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A school administrator in Newport News, Virginia, was alerted to a possible weapon on a 6-year-old boy before a first-grade teacher was shot, but a search of the student's bookbag that morning turned up empty, school district officials said. "At least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon," Parker said in a video reviewed by NBC News. The student's mother bought the gun used in the shooting legally, according to Newport News police. During the 2019-20 school year, less than 2% of public elementary schools performed random metal detector checks on students, schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Officials said there will be mental health clinicians for students and staff when school resumes, and that a security officer will be installed full-time at the school.

When students return to the Virginia school where a first-grade teacher was shot by a 6-year-old, the campus will be outfitted with a metal detector. The Newport News Public Schools district announced Thursday that a detector will be installed at Richneck Elementary School, where Abigail Zwerner was shot while teaching. At least that is one extra layer of support.”Use of metal detectors rare at American schoolsThe use of metal detectors in schools, particularly elementary schools, is still rare, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. During the 2019-2020 school year, less than 2% of public elementary schools performed random metal detector checks on students. About 54.6% of elementary schools had security staff present at least once a week; at middle schools, it was 81.5% and at high schools 84.4%.

☆ Most U.S. Schools Don’t Feel Fully Prepared for Shootings Despite Adding Security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Ben Chapman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Most U.S. public school districts don’t feel well-prepared to respond to active shooters, even after putting new safety measures in place, according to a newly released federal survey. Roughly two-thirds of public schools now control access to school grounds during the school day, up from 51% in the 2017-18 school year, according to the new figures published Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics. Classroom doors have been fitted with locks by 78%, up from 65% five years ago. And 43% of schools now employ panic buttons or silent alarms that connect directly with law enforcement, up from 29%.

The U.S. teen birth rate hit a record low in 2019, the NCHS report shows, with fewer than 1.7 births per 100 teen girls ages 15 to 19. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. declined from 2015 to 2020, additional NCHS data shows, reaching a low of fewer than 6 births per 100 women ages 15 to 44. Guzzo said birth rates never fully recovered after the Great Recession, likely due to factors such as student loan debt, high housing prices and a shortage of full-time jobs. Fertility rates vary by region, though: States in the central U.S. have higher rates than in other parts of the country. "It could be that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will act against the continued decline in birth rate," he said.

The United States experienced 18 extreme weather events last year that each caused at least $1 billion in damages, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Weather and climate disasters across the country resulted in more than $165 billion in damages in 2022, making it the third-costliest year on record, NOAA officials said. Despite a slow start to last year's hurricane season, three storms resulted in at least $1 billion in damages: Hurricane Fiona, Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole. Hurricane Ian, which slammed into southwestern Florida in late September and caused widespread destruction, resulted in nearly $113 billion in damages, the report found. NOAA’s findings offer a glimpse of the major toll that extreme weather events are already having and the country’s vulnerability to climate disasters in the future.

Austin Johnson in August 2019 when his eyes and skin had turned yellow from liver disease caused by years of heavy drinking. Courtesy Austin JohnsonCirrhosis or severe liver disease used to be something that mostly struck people in middle age, or older. “We’re definitely seeing younger and younger patients coming in with what we previously thought was advanced liver disease seen in patients only in their middle age, 50s and 60s,” said Mellinger. Since 2018, Mellinger, and doctors at the Michigan Alcohol Improvement program provide psychiatrists and addiction specialists to patients with liver disease. The yellow color in his skin and eyes — a symptom of severe liver disease — has disappeared.

Twitter accounts that offer to trade or sell child sexual abuse material under thinly veiled terms and hashtags have remained online for months, even after CEO Elon Musk said he would combat child exploitation on the platform. The tweets reviewed by NBC News offer to sell or trade content that is commonly known as child pornography or child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The tweets do not show CSAM, and NBC News did not view any CSAM in the course of reporting this article. The problem has been pervasive enough to catch the attention of some Twitter users. In 25 tweets, users tagged Musk using at least one of the major hashtags to alert him to the content.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A Russian hacking team known as Cold River targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States this past summer, according to internet records reviewed by Reuters and five cyber security experts. Cold River has escalated its hacking campaign against Kyiv's allies since the invasion of Ukraine, according to cybersecurity researchers and western government officials. 'INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION'In May, Cold River broke into and leaked emails belonging to the former head of Britain's MI6 spy service. Reuters was unable independently to confirm why Cold River targeted the NGOs. "Google has tied this individual to the Russian hacking group Cold River and their early operations," he said.

Flood watches are in effect for 12 million people in Central and Northern California. The cyclone will send a pair of warm and cold fronts over Northern California, which is already rain-soaked. “When you have more water vapor in the air because the air is warmer — you can transport more water vapor quickly,” Ralph said. Although some smaller reservoirs in Northern California have filled up, larger reservoirs still have the capacity to absorb more. “I think we will have largely alleviated the short-term drought in Northern California," Swain said.

☆ Fact Check-Video of snow falling near the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque of Mecca is digitally altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video showing snow falling at the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia’s Masjid al-Haram, the Grand Mosque of Mecca, has been digitally altered, according to the kingdom’s National Center for Meteorology. Similar versions can be seen on Facebook (here and here) and Twitter (here), where it has amassed hundreds of thousands of interactions. However, the video has been manipulated, according to Hussain Al-Qahtani, the official spokesperson of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology (NCM). “The rolling video of snow falling on #SacredMosque is not correct and has been processed with additional effects,” he wrote on Twitter (here). Snow did not fall near the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque on Jan. 1, 2023.

Wickr Me, an Amazon-owned encrypted chat platform, stopped accepting new users after Dec. 31 and will shut down completely on Dec. 31 of this year, according to an announcement from the company. In June, an NBC News investigation revealed that Wickr Me had become a go-to product for many people trading child sexual abuse material. The investigation identified 72 court cases from the past five years in which the defendant allegedly used Wickr (as it’s commonly known) to trade child sexual abuse material. In its statement in November, the company explained that it was shutting down Wickr Me to devote more resources and focus toward its business-to-business products, AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise. In 2016, one of the first successful prosecutions against someone trading child pornography on the app was reported by the Deseret Morning News.

☆ Watch How Arctic Air Blanketed the U.S. Last Week
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Aatish Bhatia | Margot Sanger-Katz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Air temperature ⭠ Warmer air Colder air ⭢ Freezing +80°F +60°F +40°F +20°F 0 -20°F Source: NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction Note: The map depicts air temperatures two meters above ground. It shows a detailed simulation of air temperatures that was created by blending high-resolution weather forecast models with recent observations from satellites and over 30,000 weather stations. The polar vortex spins in a counter-clockwise direction, creating the path of cold air that traveled south, then east, and finally north again. It became “pretty breezy” as the freezing air shifted east, said Caleb Grunzke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Chanhassen, Minn. As the cold air traveled down the central part of the country, its path was deflected by the Rocky Mountains.

SummarySummary Companies COVID infections may peak next week- Chinese health officialChina reports no new COVID deaths for 3rd dayOverstretched health system braces for more severe casesBEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - China is expecting a peak in COVID-19 infections within a week, a health official said, with authorities predicting extra strain on the country's health system even as they downplay the disease's severity and continue to report no new deaths. China reported less than 4,000 new symptomatic local COVID cases nationwide for Dec. 22, and no new COVID deaths for a third consecutive day. Authorities have narrowed the criteria for COVID deaths, prompting criticism from many disease experts. Experts say China could face more than a million COVID deaths next year. NO DATAThe World Health Organization has received no data from China on new COVID hospitalizations since Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policy.

☆ Over 3,000 minor victims were targeted in ‘sextortion’ crimes in the past year, U.S. law enforcement says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal law enforcement officers are cracking down on a scheme that aims to extort sexual imagery from children and teens after a dramatic increase in incidents over the past year. Sometimes, a predator shares imagery regardless of whether a victim meets payment demands, according to federal officials. Law enforcement officials say prevention is the best weapon against sextortion. The sextortion cycle generally ends when a victim tells an adult or the offender is discovered by law enforcement. "We will continue to partner with federal, state and local law enforcement to protect children from sexual exploitation in all its despicable forms."

☆ Why an Abu Dhabi startup wants to send quinoa seeds into space
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Abu Dhabi-based startup StarLab Oasis, a spin-off from Texan company Nanoracks, wants to grow seeds in outer space in order to develop plant varieties that can survive on a less hospitable Earth. In 2023, StarLab Oasis expects to send its first seeds into orbit. From soybeans to quinoa, seeds grow differently in space than on land. Sending seeds to space will help “sustainability, climate change, and food security on Earth,” StarLab Oasis’ co-founder Allen Herbert tells CNN Business. It plans to work with companies, space agencies, universities and non-profits, to send seeds to space either for research or commercial purposes.

☆ Family searching for answers in 2018 disappearance of Atlanta, Texas man Eric Alvarado
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Sarah Portney | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Thirty-two-year-old Eric Alvarado was last seen on his home security cameras in the early morning hours of November 20, 2018, in Atlanta, Texas. Eric’s father, Lorenzo Alvarado, told Dateline that Eric’s wife, Samantha, called the police to report her husband missing about 45 minutes later. He loved doing that.”Eric and Lorenzo Alvarado Lorenzo AlvaradoEric’s older brother, Matt Alvarado, also spoke with Dateline. Captain Restelle told Dateline that no one has reported anything to the Atlanta, Texas Police Department about being threatened. If anyone has any information in regards to Eric’s disappearance, please contact the Atlanta, Texas Police Department at (903) 796-7973.

☆ 11 ancient sites that are mysteriously aligned with the sun on the winter solstice, in photos.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Archaeologists have found many ancient sites that line up with the winter solstice sun. Here are 11 sites that line up with the winter solstice, and what experts think about them. Newgrange, County Meath, IrelandPeople celebrating the sunrise at Newgrange on the morning of the winter solstice in 2018. ShutterstockOne of the most famous examples of ancient architecture lining up with the winter solstice is in Machu Picchu, Peru. "From the winter solstice the days are longer, which was a metaphor of the rebirth of the deceased," he said.

☆ Democratic senator questions Twitter’s handling of child safety under Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent a letter to tech billionaire Elon Musk on Friday expressing concern that Twitter’s approach to child safety had “rapidly deteriorated” since Musk bought the social media site in October. He continued: “While Twitter certainly had room for improving online child safety before you acquired it, reports indicate that Twitter’s approach to child safety has rapidly deteriorated on your watch." Durbin cited Musk’s decision to dissolve Twitter’s expert board, known as its Trust and Safety Council, as well as a 50% reduction in staff at Twitter’s child safety team. By one metric — reports to an outside group that tracks child sexual abuse material — Musk has made little difference, for better or worse. Durbin wrote to Musk that Twitter has both “global legal obligations” and moral obligations to address online child abuse.

☆ Fact Check-‘Catastrophic Contagion’ video is fictional and does not support claims about pandemic preparedness exercises
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Baseless claims that pandemic preparedness exercises are proof that disease outbreaks are “planned” by authorities have been a recurring narrative since the coronavirus pandemic broke out. These fictional scenarios go beyond infectious diseases, as such exercises also exist for natural disasters or nuclear events, for example. These rules, that are binding for WHO members, set out countries’ obligations when handling public health events and emergencies that could potentially cross borders (here) (here). Otherwise, we will be unprepared for the next infectious disease event. Experts told Reuters that preparedness exercises like “Catastrophic Contagion” have been a part of pandemic preparedness for at least the last two decades.

☆ U.S. should've spied on Chinese health officials who were hiding what they knew about Covid, Congress says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. intelligence agencies began warning that Covid-19 could become a pandemic just weeks after the coronavirus was first reported in China, but they missed an opportunity to better understand its spread because they didn’t quickly begin spying on Chinese health officials who were hiding what they knew, says a newly declassified report by the House Intelligence Committee. The report partly vindicates the CIA and other U.S. spy agencies, noting that they raised the specter of a pandemic well before the World Health Organization declared one on March 11, 2020. And it adds to the body of evidence showing that then-President Donald Trump misled the public about what he was hearing from advisers about the seriousness of the virus. Investigators said they were “unable to corroborate” reports by NBC News and ABC News that U.S. spies collected raw intelligence in November indicating a health crisis in Wuhan, China. The report says the first intelligence report mentioning the virus that would become known as coronavirus or Covid-19 came on the day of the first media report about it.

☆ Growing obesity crisis in U.S. prompts CDC to expand body mass index charts for severely overweight kids
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday released new body mass index charts for children in response to the growing obesity crisis in the U.S. More than 4.5 million children and teenagers had severe obesity in 2018, according to the CDC. The BMI charts from 2000 will still be used for children who are not obese, according to CDC. By 2018, 19.3% of kids were obese and 6.1% were severely obese, according to National Center for Health Statistics. Severe obesity is a BMI that is 120% higher than the 95th percentile.

☆ Long Covid has contributed to more than 3,500 deaths in the U.S. since start of pandemic, CDC says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The analysts then looked more closely at these death certificates to identify language indicating long Covid played a role in the death. As a result, the analysts chose common terms for the condition including "chronic Covid," "long Covid," "long haul Covid," "long hauler Covid" and "post Covid" among others. Long Covid deaths peaked at 3.8% of all Covid fatalities in April 2022, according to the report. Seniors ages 75 and older accounted for about 57% of the 2,490 long Covid deaths with detailed demographic information. Long Covid can range widely from mild to debilitating symptoms impacting multiple organ systems that prevent people from returning to work.

Meanwhile, Twitter’s resources to fight child sexual exploitation content online (and what is sometimes called child pornography or child sexual abuse materials) are thin, following layoffs, mass-firings and resignations from the company. Child sexual exploitation content has remained a problem for Twitter, though most major social media platforms continue to deal with it in some form or another. Moderation of this content usually relies on a combination of automated detection systems and specialized internal teams and external contractors to identify child abuse content and remove it. “So, I mean, that is disheartening.”It’s unclear how many Twitter employees remain to work on child safety issues. A search on LinkedIn for current Twitter employees who say they work on child safety turned up only a few accounts.

Twitter on Monday disbanded its Trust and Safety Council, a group of volunteers who offered the company outside expert advice about online safety, according to an email seen by NBC News. "As part of this process, we have decided that the Trust and Safety Council is not the best structure to do this." Holmes added, "Over past week several members of council have had their personal safety and well-being impacted by the actions of Twitter staff." Some members of the council recently sparked an argument over the company's handling of child sexual exploitation material. Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, responded: "this is false."

Less than a month after taking control of Twitter , Elon Musk said addressing child sexual exploitation content on the social media platform was "Priority #1." "It is a crime that they refused to take action on child exploitation for years!" Meanwhile, Twitter's resources to fight child sexual exploitation content online (and what is sometimes called child pornography or child sexual abuse materials) are thin, following layoffs, mass-firings and resignations from the company. Twitter's imperfect efforts fighting child sexual exploitation content were well documented. Stroppa said he felt Twitter's previous efforts were lacking and that it now moves quickly to find and suspend accounts that post child sexual exploitation content.

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